A Team success at Sheffield BUCS match

Friday 22nd of November saw De Montfort's A team head off to Sheffield University to compete in the first BUCS fixture of the season! The match was against Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham University and Sheffield University with a very, very early start for De Montfort who trekked their way up the M1 to Sheffield's home yard for what was set to be a very exciting day for all. With weekly training occurring at Witham Villa on a Wednesday, DMU A team have been working hard the past few weeks to enable them to be as prepared as possible for the first lot of fixtures this term.

A Team; Jenny Walker, Georgia Aston, Clare Wilyman
and Gemma Elliott

The team that represented De Montfort comprised of Jenny Walker, A team Captain and Chairperson for DMU Equestrian who has been pushing all of the girls at training this year to ensure the best results possible. Gemma Elliott, the feisty show jumper from Northern Ireland whose usual duties include giving the girls at DMU Equestrian a top night out as social secretary for the club. Clare Wilyman, Kit Officer and Treasurer on the committee who has been working hard all summer with her own horses at home to train for the high standard of riding displayed from the participating universities as she previously competed on the A team last year. Last, but by no means least, Georgia Aston, one of DMU Equestrian's newest members who has owned horses and competed at home prior to joining the team, but this was to be her first ever competition in BUCS!

As to be expected, nerves were high and the pressure was on to gain DMU some valuable points on that BUCS score board. The morning commenced with the dressage phase and all of the rider's drew their horses and got ready to complete their Prelim standard test after only 7 minutes to get to grips with their ride. A difficult and challenging ask for all who rode with little time to work their horse before entering the arena. A very solid set of scores from our A team rider's but the tough competition meant De Montfort were placed last after the Dressage phase and knew they all had to fight for that win back with their jumping rounds giving them more drive than ever to bring it back.

Gemma Elliott gained an impressive 8th
individual place at Sheffield University.

The jumping commenced in the afternoon with DMU determined to gain back their rightful place and pull some top scores out. With lots of 8s, 9s, and 10s being awarded the fight for places and top marks was to be the biggest challenge yet for A team. Gemma Elliott and Jenny Walker however, gained astonishing marks with 211 out of 220 for Jenny, and 209 out of 220 for Gemma in the jump phase. A fabulous display of jumping by all meant De Montfort secured themselves a 3rd place Team win! A fantastic result of all the hard work and training put in by the team in the past few weeks, beating the prestigious Nottingham University by 15 points. Not only was this a massive achievement, but the girls gained two individual placings of 6th and 8th, from two of our committee members, who were delighted with the day.

Captain, Jenny Walker was ecstatic with the results and commented saying;

"The whole team rode so well in both the dressage and jumping phases. The competition was really high (and so were the nerves!) but all our riders upped their game and rode the best I have ever seen them so far this year! Gaining 3rd team place and two individuals is a positive reflection of all the hard work and dedication of the team so far, we hope to continue to bring good results back and carry on doing De Montfort proud."

Georgia Aston, the only fresher joining the A team had this to say;

"As the only fresher on the A Team, I was very nervous of taking part in our first competition. Initially I was worried that there would be a lot of pressure to perform, however my team mates were fantastic and very relaxed about the whole day, helping me out every step of the way. We had a positive attitude towards the whole competition and had a fantastic day. The experience was made even better by coming away with a good dressage score and a brilliant clear round in the jumping as well as team 3rd for DMU and two individual placings! I can now look forward to our upcoming home competition and hopefully another good result for the A team."

DMU Equestrian are definitely proving themselves to be one to watch out for this year, with the A team success only reinforcing this further. At the forefront of sport at De Montfort, Equestrian are looking forward to the up coming B team home competition and the launch of the naked calendar in the next few weeks hoping to gain more success for both competitors and charity.

A special thanks to Fidelity Group, who sponsor our weekly team training sessions, and also Witham Villa Riding Centre who continue to work with us pushing for the best results possible. The committee are working hard to ensure a successful BUCS season and that results are continually improving and Equestrian is striving to be the best they can be in all disciplines. The team were all proudly representing De Montfort in their DMU red and black stocks that gained a very positive reception from the opposing teams.

CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN TO A TEAM:
GEMMA ELLIOTT
GEORGIA ASTON
JENNY WALKER and
CLARE WILYMAN

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Georgia Aston

Gemma Elliott

Jenny Walker

Clare Wilyman